Arizona's attorney general on Wednesday accused three members of the state's redistricting commission of stonewalling an investigation of possible open meeting law violations that he said reportedly include private one-on-one talks between the chairwoman and other members before a key vote.

The five volunteers tasked with redrawing Arizona’s political districts may soon have to tell the world who they’ve been talking with, outside the commission’s public meetings, about their highly-political work.

Attorney General Tom Horne is planning to file a special court action this week to compel cooperation from the three members of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission who have refused to submit to his investigation into whether the panel violated state procurement and open meetings laws when it hired a mapping firm in June.

In the high-stakes job to redraw Arizona’s political districts, much has been debated about the idea of “transparency.”

The Independent Redistricting Commission, apparently concerned about the public perception of its decision to hire a mapping firm with historic ties to Democratic causes, recently established a rule intended to allay fears of partisanship driving the mapping process.

But what about the commission itself? Shouldn’t its members be held to the same standard?

Former Attorney General Terry Goddard this weekend accused now AG Tom Horne of taking part in a Republican “intimidation campaign” against the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. The announcement was odd, and so was the timing – given that Horne’s investigation has been ongoing for more than a month.

If Republican Attorney General Tom Horne would be willing to meet the Independent Redistricting Commission halfway, a Democrat on the panel said he would be prone to reconsidering his stance that he and his colleagues should resist cooperating with an investigation Horne launched last month.

The maps that will be presented to the IRC today by the Hispanic Coalition for Good Government will include a competitive congressional district based in central Phoenix, Gallardo told our reporter yesterday.

The Secretary of State’s office on Wednesday dismissed a complaint alleging that the state’s redistricting commission was being illegally lobbied by a group with ties to Republican politicians.

The state’s elections officials threw the complaint out because they said Arizona’s lobbying laws don’t apply to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. But in their dismissal letter, those same elections officials said they believe the laws should be changed so they do apply.

And that could happen as early as next year, said Amy Bjelland, the Secretary of State’s election director.